EDGE A Guide for Practicing Gender Equity in Exhibit This guide is supported by the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation and based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1323806. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this guide are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation or the National Science Foundation.

© 2021 Exploratorium, San Francisco, California.

How to cite: Exploratorium. (2021). A Guide for Practicing Gender Equity in Exhibit Design. San Francisco, CA: Exploratorium. Table of Contents

4 Introduction

5 What Is EDGE?

5 Why Practice EDGE Design?

6 Starting Resources

6 The EDGE Design Attributes

8 Ramping Up to EDGE Design

9 Personal and Team Learning

10 Doing the Work

10 Select Exhibits and Exhibit Areas

11 Assess Exhibits for EDGE Design Attributes

12 Talk About Design Attributes

12 The Subjective Meaning of Whimsy

14 Cultural Considerations for Familiar Objects and Homeyness

17 Lean on Label Design

18 Materials Matter

19 Exhibit Stories

24 Conclusion

25 Acknowledgments

26 References

28 Appendix: EDGE Design Attributes Assessment Tool

3 Introduction

Welcome to the world of Exhibit Design for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE)!

This guide is designed to help you on your journey to create better, more engaging science, technology, , and mathematics (STEM) exhibit experiences for girls—no matter where you are starting from. Here, we share ideas and suggestions, based on the lessons learned first-hand by the Exploratorium team, on how to creatively explore the possibilities EDGE can bring to your organization.

Exhibit Engagement for Girls’ Design (EDGE) began as an NSF-funded research project led by the Exploratorium to learn how science can design exhibits to better engage girls aged 8–13 with STEM exhibits. Over the course of the research, we identified nine design attributes that were consistently positively related to girls’ engagement with these exhibits.

As we had dreamed it might, EDGE, that catchy acronym, has taken root in both the vocabulary and practice of exhibit design. EDGE is there to help me justify and support my choices or nudge things in a way that is reassuring; it is a counterbalance, a bolster, a fairy on my shoulder. —Jessica Strick, Exhibit Development

The Exploratorium then went on a three-year journey funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to explore ways to fold the design attributes into our exhibits, with a focus on existing exhibits. By increasing the number of design attributes that better engage girls on our floor, we have hoped to expand access to engaging STEM experiences.

For our team, EDGE is a new, essential way of centering girls’ engagement with STEM exhibits. We hope this guide is useful, wherever you find yourself on the journey toward gender equitable exhibit design.

4 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN What Is EDGE? The Exhibit for Girls' Engagement (EDGE) 2016 research project aimed to identify the most important design attributes for engaging girls 8–13 years at STEM exhibits.

We looked at: 60+ exhibit design attributes at over 300 STEM exhibits during a multisite project at the Exploratorium, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Arizona Science Center.

The result? 9 design attributes were identified as being strongly and positively correlated with girls’ STEM exhibit engagement. None of these were found to negatively impact boys’ STEM exhibit engagement; in fact, a few of them were positively related to boys’ engagement as well.

Why Practice EDGE Design? Science centers and museums can be spaces where children can stumble on unexpected—and unexpectedly fun!—opportunities to engage in unique and exciting STEM activities. They create an environment where visitors can enjoy interactive experiences where they use science-process skills (such as observing changes, or making and testing hypotheses) in ways that can spark continued interest and excitement about the sciences, or help them begin to develop their identity as science learners and doers.1

Research has found, though, that not all STEM exhibit designs or experiences engage boys and girls similarly. There is a known barrier for girls’ engagement in that certain

As an exhibit and builder, I have noticed a lot of decisions are made from our assumptions based on experience. The EDGE design attributes gave me a tool to help guide my design process.

—Vicente Oropeza, Exhibit Development

Introduction 5 STEM areas—particularly physics and engineering—attract girls less and engage them for less time.2

Design in the informal science learning (ISL) environment has also traditionally been masculine centered.3 Feeling a sense of “belonging” in the is key for girls’ interest and engagement in STEM.4 The sense that exhibits or ISL spaces are not designed for them may be a contributing factor to why girls reportedly visit science museums less frequently than boys.5 As STEM educators and , we need to ask ourselves: How can we better understand and meet girls’ needs, so that we can offer them more engaging and welcoming experiences?

We study exhibit design attributes because exhibits are something we can evaluate and change in museum environments. There are many factors around gender socialization that play a part in childrens’ comfort and sense of being invited into science learning, such as experiences at home, school, and with social media. Looking at individual exhibits offers accessible opportunities to explore how we can improve gender equity in science museums.

Starting Resources

EDGE Research Project Overview EDGE Website This article offers a brief overview This Exploratorium website is a hub of the research behind and primary to access all EDGE publications. findings of the 2016 EDGE research

project.

EDGE Design Attribute Guide EDGE Research Project Webinar Our research project team created This webinar recording is a practical an in-depth guide to the EDGE introduction to the nine attributes for Design Attributes. This is a key practitioners who prefer visual and/or resource for coming to a deeper auditory learning. understanding of what the nine attributes look like in practice!

The EDGE Design Attributes The EDGE design attributes are displayed in no particular order. The best design attributes to select for an exhibit are those that can enhance the content and intended user experience. This means not every exhibit can or should include all nine attributes! Using multiple attributes when they make sense for a given exhibit can, however, be beneficial for better engaging girl visitors.

6 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN EXHIBIT LABELS

The exhibit label includes a use drawing, giving visitors an idea of how to use the exhibit. These drawings often show a person doing an action, or how to use an interactive element.

The exhibit label includes at least one image of a person. An exhibit label might include an image of a person to add real-world context or help visitors use the exhibit.

EXHIBIT LOOK–AND–FEEL

The exhibit includes at least one familiar object that most people have seen before. Includes everyday things such as kitchen items, household tools, musical instruments, or stuffed animals.

The exhibit’s look-and-feel is homey, personal, homemade, or delicate. Homey design aesthetics deal with materials such as soft fabrics, wood cabinetry, or small, intimate scale that may give a more personal feeling.

The exhibit’s look-and-feel is playful, whimsical, or humorous. The central experience or aesthetic fosters a feeling of playfulness rather than a need to “be serious” or “get it right.”

EXHIBIT INTERACTIONS

The exhibit has multiple stations or sides, allowing more than one person to experience the phenomenon. These exhibits give each visitor ownership of a personal space to experience the phenomenon or do the activity.

The exhibit has been designed with space to accommodate three or more people. A large room, spacious floor plan, or large table surface create physical space, or elbow room at the exhibit.

The exhibit is designed so visitors can watch others to preview what to do. When visitors can see the actions or reactions of another person using an exhibit, it may orient them to the activity.

The exhibit is open-ended, providing multiple outcomes, activities, or ways to interact. Exhibits may be open-ended in many ways, for example: the outcome is different every time or it is designed for a multitude of iterations with an assortment of variables.

Introduction 7 Ramping Up to EDGE Design

Taking time to better understand dominant design practices within ISL settings is a helpful starting point for thinking about EDGE design, which, in many ways, is an exercise in self-reflection as well as exhibit design.6

Our team had varied comfort in doing this work at the start. Channeling ideas on what might be attractive to girls in exhibits led to conversations on stereotyping, assumptions, and . Team trust and shared vocabulary made it possible to toy with EDGE design ideas.

Applying the EDGE principles looks straightforward on the surface, but it’s a subtle art that involves understanding new audience perspectives, and reconsidering lifelong assumptions and practices. —Diane Whitmore, Exhibit Development

As we learned more about gender expansive concepts,7 we worked to better understand dimensions of masculinity and femininity in design. We learned how we each have and express masculine and feminine aspects within our identities, making us equally capable to engage in this work. And, we remain learners in this work! Active practice and communication are our key tools for continuing to support opportunities for gender equity in design.

8 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Personal and Team Learning TIP for Individuals: 1. Open yourself to learning about Consider keeping a journal as a how design can be shaped by gender place to explore your thoughts, expansive thinking, STEM identity, emerging questions, and contemplations. and biases. Spend a little independent learning time These concepts and the many ideas with the EDGE Design Attributes Guide behind them influence how one creates and other materials. Topics or concepts and uses exhibits. Questions to explore that might be new can take time to by yourself or as a team might be: absorb. How do you learn best? Meet yourself where you’re at, and go from 8 • How are dominant STEM identities there! or ways of learning privileged in design? 2. Create and use a • How can design be used to center shared with your team or non-dominant STEM identities or vocabulary project partners. ways of learning? Many of the EDGE attributes are • How does implicit bias affect design subjective, and can be viewed differently choices? by different people. Ideas about design • Imagine walking into a new space. can be equally varied based on one’s What are the design elements in the experiences. Collectively discussing space that make you feel like you subjective EDGE design ideas, such as belong? What might make you feel homey and whimsical, helps reveal this the space isn’t meant for you? natural variety so that your team can create and agree on a shared vocabulary.

3. Be gentle with yourself and TIP for Teams: When you your team while exploring these can, think about ways to concepts. invite people with expertise to talk with you and/or your team Moving toward design that embraces about concepts, and to share ideas more gender expansive identities and and build a sense of community in ways of being is necessary. Discussing which considerations around gender, and decentering assumptions around identity, and implicit bias can be freely gender in exhibit design can, however, discussed. Keep these questions in mind: be professionally and personally How does your team talk/share/learn challenging. Even those on our team best? How might you creatively design who have done this work for many these sessions to maximize your team’s years experienced these challenges! comfort and build conversational trust We encourage you to step into these with one another? challenges with patience, empathy, dialog, and a listening spirit.

Ramping Up to EDGE Design 9 Doing the Work

Select Exhibits and Exhibit Areas Deciding where to start the work, and how to be the most time- and cost- effective, can be challenging. When the Exploratorium team wanted to look for opportunities to do our best and most effective work, we found it helpful to identify exhibits that met a few of the following requirements. Thinking about exhibits in relation to these criteria helped us focus on sections of galleries where our work would have the greatest impact on girls’ engagement.

• Potential: Is there a core experience that can be explored further?

• Idea-inspiring: Do we feel inspired, or find it easy to generate ideas, on how the exhibit(s) can be made EDGE-ier?

• Data-driven: Is there existing information that can offer insight on which exhibits or galleries are less engaging for girls aged 8–13 versus boys? Can we ask people at our organization who spend lots of time with visitors to share stories or insights on what they observe? Can we do quick, informal observations ourselves?

• Thrifty: Will the EDGE modifications associated with the specific exhibit be low cost, both in terms of time invested and materials needed?

• Reversible: Will the EDGE modifications be friendly to a trial-and-error design process, in that they are easy and affordable to add and remove?

Participating in the ongoing process of adding EDGE elements to our exhibit labels has made me a better designer, and a better advocate for inclusive messaging in all of our materials. —Ray Larsen,

10 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Assess Exhibits for EDGE Design Attributes 1. Get familiar with the EDGE Design plenty of space and time for this conversation, as Attributes Guide and the assessment tool (see it’s a valuable way to begin building your shared the Appendix on page 28). vocabulary and understanding of the Design Try a few practice rounds by yourself or with co- Attributes. workers with some exhibits! 5. Discuss which Design Attributes are most 2. Identify the exhibits or collection you and least prevalent. want to assess. Are certain attributes already well represented in This might be a set of exhibits where you the exhibits? Are others missing entirely? What, know visitors stay a short time (signaling lower if anything, was surprising to learn EDGE-wise engagement), a series of older exhibits that are about the exhibits or collection that was assessed? due for a refresh, or an area that your team is interested in learning more about. See the section 6. Decide on a plan of action to start Select Exhibits and Exhibit Areas on page 10 for thinking about ways to make the exhibits the criteria we use at the Exploratorium to identify EDGE-ier. opportunity areas for where we could do our best and most efficient work. We encourage you to Consider these questions as you consider your think about and decide on what areas might be of next steps. most relevance, interest, or importance for your • What is the core experience for the assessed projects and audiences. exhibit?

• What EDGE Design Attributes does the exhibit 3. Create a team that will code the have or not have? Are you inspired to use some exhibits using the assessment tool. EDGE Design Attributes instead of others Assessing exhibits with others helps air out to highlight the exhibit’s core experience/ assumptions and open up new ways of seeing the phenomenon? Are there any attributes you Design Attributes. Think creatively about who can find yourself shying away from? Can you push participate in the process. Is there a co-worker yourself into that discomfort and explore and who is interested in helping out, or can you turn prototype a bit before you skip them? the assessment into an internship opportunity? • What modifications do you imagine? When working with one or two others, it is ideal to code the exhibits separately. If you have a • What prototypes would you like to create to larger group, split the group into pairs to code the see if your ideas can work? exhibits. Then, come back together as a group to compare and discuss results and decide on a plan. • How do those prototypes match your project timeline or budget?

4. Compare your Design Attributes • Overall and compared to other assessed coding results. exhibits, does the exhibit seem like a good candidate for EDGE refurbishment? Where did you and your teammates differ in coding? Where were you similar? Be sure to hold

Doing the Work 11 Talk About Design Attributes What does whimsy actually look like? Whose home is homey? What objects are familiar, and to whom? How do we include delicate objects in exhibits that need to be durable? When and how do you decide to remake an exhibit to be more open-ended?

Our team spent much time talking about each Design Attribute, leaning heavily on the EDGE Design Attributes Guide as a foundational resource. For some attribute discussions, it was helpful to walk around the museum and find exhibits with clear examples of the attribute in question to focus our conversation and to surface our underlying assumptions and perspectives. Here are a few highlights of our learning, which may offer ideas on how to engage in these reflections with yourself, and in conversations with your teams.

THE SUBJECTIVE MEANING OF WHIMSY Whimsy, the look-and-feel aesthetic that fosters “a feeling of playfulness rather than a need to ‘be serious’ or ‘get it right,’”14 was a tricky Design Attribute for our team to come to a shared agreement on. We decided to review exhibits on the floor to characterize how we manifest whimsy in exhibits, and ended up with five types of whimsy. Identifying these together made it easier for us to think about how to meaningfully add whimsy in our galleries in a way that made exhibits more engaging, while providing shared language. What might whimsy look like at your museum?

Visitors dance and play and enjoy the unexpected, immersive delight of Fog Bridge #72494 which encourages whimsical behavior.

12 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN A Few Types of Whimsy

Integral Whimsy: Exhibits that wouldn’t exist without whimsy

Silly Whimsy: Exhibits with playfully fun and content-appropriate whimsical additions

Sly Whimsy: Exhibits that may not appear whimsical at first glance but are surprisingly humorous

Whimsical Design: For some exhibits, the whimsy is not one thing, it’s how the A slinky, an integrally whimsical item, is the star of exhibit is put together! For this category, Slinky Treadmill. it would be possible to show the same phenomenon in a nonwhimsical, serious way.

Whimsical Behavior: Exhibits that elicit whimsical behavior

Mood Lighting playfully introduces color psychology by inviting visitors to explore a spectrum of colors inside a bubble helmet.

Musical Locker's sly whimsy and its interactive component can pleasantly surprise visitors.

A silly pair of orange feet added to our Coupled Pendulums exhibit makes these pendulums look like a pair of legs, lazily kicking their heels.

Doing the Work 13 CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR FAMILIAR OBJECTS AND HOMEYNESS Familiar objects are defined in the EDGE Guide as objects “that can be easily found at home, school, or a department store” with “commonplace shape and form.”9 A homey look-and-feel involves exhibit materials made of “soft fabric, wood cabinetry, pliable cardboard,” or an exhibit style that incorporates “a common home activity—cooking, playing with toys, or sitting on a cozy couch.”10 However, when designers first think of familiar objects or hominess, what objects or homes come to mind? Would a diverse audience feel connected to these objects, or find them familiar?

Creating engaging STEM exhibit experiences for all audiences means seeking opportunities to recognize, represent, and respect the non-dominant practices, people, and forms of knowledge that are traditionally excluded from or invisible within ISL settings.11 For this reason, our team spent time discussing the ways experiences and cultural influences shape design, how we can identify objects that have widespread familiarity to use in our exhibits, and ways we might respectfully represent objects with specific cultural attachments.

Take a moment to pause and think about the many possibilities of what culture means to you and/or your team. How might EDGE Design Attributes intertwine with thinking about creating better STEM exhibits for girls from socially non-dominant backgrounds and life experiences?

14 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN The original Thermal Impressions exhibit (top left) achieved the goal of sharing a complex STEM topic of heat exchange in an interactive way, but was not visually engaging. The result of for EDGE-y concepts led to a redesign (above) that includes colorful Mexican tin ornaments, household keys in nature patterns, and other familiar objects.

Doing the Work 15 1. Reflect on representation. • Want to know what girls think? Invite them to participate in focus groups What dominant or non-dominant and listening sessions or create a Girl cultures or identities are represented in Advisory Committee! your identity, or that of your teammates? What are the dominant or non-dominant • Check your assumptions through cultures or identities you want to feel observation, listening, and welcomed by or familiar with the gallery meaningfully practicing participatory12 space or exhibits? Be specific and honest or co-creative13 design with the people with yourself about intent and goals. your museum actively engages.

2. Invite others in. 3. Brainstorm ideas on objects that might speak across broader Take the humbling standpoint that you ranges of cultural backgrounds and don't know for certain what people experiences. think. How can you create opportunities to learn about their experiences, and When thinking about familiar objects to hear from them firsthand? There are fold into exhibit experiences, consider: many creative ways to invite multiple What might be “familiar” to more than just perspectives and experiences into the one audience group? Are there some design process: objects more than others that may appeal to non-dominant audiences? Carefully • Explore your audiences’ possible consider how and when to respectfully— needs through resources like SciGirls without tokenism or appropriation— CONNECT Project and the CAISE include objects that are specific to a STEM Identity website. certain audience, particularly if the objects do not belong to the culture of anyone on the exhibit team.

The label is our first, biggest—and sometimes, our only— chance to hook in visitors with an idea or visual that they can instantly connect with. —Pearl Tesler, Editorial

16 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Lean on Label Design Labels! The easiest part of an exhibit to update, right? Well . . . sometimes.

Label reviews can offer insights and ideas on opportunities to incorporate EDGE Design Attributes. Depending on the exhibit, a label update may be a more financially practical way to incorporate EDGE than physical modifications. Starting off by considering the exhibit label also offers an opportunity to creatively consider ways to add gender representation in a “use drawing” or “image of a person,” and visual references of familiar and friendly objects.

When modifying labels, our team found that a label was most improved when the EDGE design changes matched an exhibit’s usability or content needs. Discussing a given exhibit’s intended use and content goals before planning changes helped us decide how to EDGE-ify the label to best benefit the exhibit experience.

Adding “use drawings” and/or an “image of a person” on labels also provides opportunities to improve representation. Consider the following: • Who do the people on your labels look like? Do they look like your audience in age range, personal and social identities, etc.?

• When creating new use drawings, can you use actual visitors as models? Try to indicate enough detail in the person to convey a sense of individuality without distracting from the functional, instructional purpose of the drawing.

Blow Out Your Toaster is a heat and temperature exhibit. The exhibit itself is large and abstract looking, and so our team wanted to use EDGE Design Attributes to make the experience and content easier to understand. The updated label includes a use drawing to help nonreaders and early readers better understand how to engage with the wires as they heat up behind the protective mesh, and an image of a familiar household object (a toaster) gives visitors a clear, real-life connection with the content.

Doing the Work 17 Materials Matter Our team found that the materials we had around us while making exhibits influenced our design ideas. What materials are around you? Are there quirky items to inspire you to new ideas and possibilities (rubber duckies, disco balls, holiday decorations)?

1. Shake up your source. 3. Experiment with the familiar. For inspiration, look around unusual In March 2020, the state of California places: your local corner store, a thrift implemented a shelter-in-place order shop, or everyday things around your due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While home! working at home, our developers and engineers were compelled to experiment 2. Keep a cart of playful and with materials in their homes and home unexpected items. workshops; the delightful result is a set of heat and temperature exhibits crafted At the Exploratorium, our exhibits with lamps, frames, cookie cutters, and are frequently built with whatever other homey objects. inexpensive materials we have on hand. These tend to be rugged, sturdy items that are highly masculine in look and feel. To create balance in the materials available, the team decided to develop a cart of materials and items that are fanciful, random, and/or usually considered improbable for exhibit development; things with sparkle and whimsy, or random things you might find stashed away in a kitchen drawer. This cart is available to all Exhibit Development staff as a resource to inspire their work as well as ideas for EDGE-ifying existing exhibits.

18 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Exhibit Stories

Here are some examples of exhibits before and after we applied EDGE Design Attributes and the icons representing those attributes.

Familiar Objects Vitrine Creating more engaging experiences with EDGE design can also be done with creative setting additions. For example, many electricity and motors gallery exhibits demonstrate STEM content well, just not in an EDGE-y way. We decided that instead of making changes to individual exhibits that we wanted to play with adding something new that might make the content more relatable. This resulted in the Familiar Objects Vitrine, a unique showcase of familiar, motor-run household objects (a blender, a drill, house fan) with the plastic sidings removed. The chance to peer in and see the hidden motors inside each object is a unique experience that has helped visitors easily make real-life connections with the surrounding exhibit content.

Exhibit Stories 19 Stripped-Down Motor Girls exhibited low engagement at Stripped-Down Motor (below left) in the 2016 EDGE research study. We wanted to play with ways to feature the same STEM concept with an open-ended use experience, as in the home activity version of Stripped-Down Motor,15 while still including a use drawing and image of a person in the label to make it easier to connect with how to use the exhibit. The result was Super Stripped-Down Motor (below right). As this was a new exhibit, we wanted to watch and talk with museum visitors to see if there were ways to improve it.16 Based on what we learned, the team decided to also add multiple sides to the next version, Spinning Coil Motors (bottom right). This EDGE design addition affords visitors the opportunity to share their success and help each other.

20 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Communicating Coils Communicating Coils (below left) was a straightforward exhibit with a guided use experience: the user pushes a button, a chain wiggles slightly and a light turns on to show how electrical signals can seem to pass through the air and aren't only constrained to wires. Our team decided to creatively rethink this exhibit using EDGE design principles.

The result of the imaginative rebuild was Jumping the Gap (below right), an open- ended experience that demonstrates how electrical signals in the form of music can “jump” through air between a mounted coil and a handheld coil attached to headphones (inset) and lets users experiment with distance and other variables to see what affects the electric signals.

Upbeat songs were selected from a variety of musical genres to add a silly whimsy to the experience, and using a bedside table sourced from a thrift shop as the exhibit base added a sense of hominess. Additionally, we selected a feminine person as a model for our new use drawing to boost visual representation of female identities in the gallery area.

Exhibit Stories 21 Gas Model Minor EDGE changes can be as helpful as major ones. Gas Model (below left) demonstrates the properties of molecules in gas using small rubber balls as model “molecules.” Our team decided to make two small design changes to highlight familiar experiences visitors might have had in real life with gas molecules that speed up, collide, and expand as they get hotter.

A label rewrite highlighted the way molecules might cause a boiling pot’s lid to jiggle and popcorn kernels to expand (below right), and a stock pot lid replaced the plain flat panel as the top that contains the bouncing “molecules” (bottom left). A benefit of the stock pot lid is that its familiarity extends across a range of kitchen experiences. (For one staff member, it brought up memories of making tamales with family, while another was reminded of the pot their family uses for spaghetti.)

22 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Water-Drop Photography EDGE design additions should always support exhibit engagement goals. Sometimes, a idea doesn’t work out well in practice. Water-Drop Photography is an exhibit where people can observe a droplet at different stages of its journey into a small pool of water (left) using an adjustable timer camera. The open backdrop allowed visitors to be a part of the scene and, when well-timed, users could even capture the perfect moment where they themselves are in the droplet.

In the original EDGE study this exhibit engaged boys better than girls. We felt it was a good candidate for a design change and decided something whimsical might be a good addition given the small scale. Small, replaceable scenes were created to place around the mug holding water (right). What we quickly realized after observing visitors was that although people appeared more drawn to the exhibit after the change, these miniature scenes unfortunately transformed the exhibit from an open-ended exploration of the water-drop cycle into a single-viewing experience. Looking back, we also realized it was the people’s faces in the photos that held the whimsy; adding scenes actually detracted from the visitors’ participation and ownership in exploring the phenomenon.

In trying to create something whimsical, we had lost that magical “something” in the exhibit. We took this lesson to heart, and now approach possible EDGE design changes with a new lens: “This is a fun idea! Will it support the exhibit content and desired use experience?”

Exhibit Stories 23 Conclusion

At the end of our three-year EDGE refurbishment journey, our team has learned a lot . . . and still has much to learn!

Below are the big “take-aways” from our experience. We hope they’ll be useful for you, too, as you start or continue your journey with designing for girls’ engagement.

1. Build in time to think and talk. However, ask yourselves: Is a complete redo necessary? Are there other creative Making space to have pre-work, during- alternatives? work, and post-work conversations can take time and emotional energy. To achieve our specific end goals, our However, that time is critical to build team found that it took a great deal of connectivity, get on track, be honest with time to strategize, review data, plan each other, and make sure the work is courses of action, document our work, both effective and impactful. and evaluate the refurbishment results. Inexpensive prototyping materials offset

some of the labor costs for us. 2. Embrace the peculiarities.

Each exhibit or exhibit area has its 4. Partner with others. own formula for which EDGE Design Attributes can be used to make it as We were able to test ideas, get engaging as can be! Whether looking to wider input, dig deeper into our add whimsy or warmth, multiple stations, preconceptions, and benefit in so many or more familiar objects, the attributes other ways by inviting in and listening to chosen need to fit with the vibe of the the expertise of a variety of staff who do institution, gallery, and audience(s) as work such as graphic design, writing, and well as the individual exhibit. visitor experience. Working with others in this way, if and when possible, gives an

invaluable boost! 3. Plan and prioritize your end goals.

Thinking about cost, priorities, and impact all go hand in hand for deciding where to start a journey toward EDGE design. Shifting an existing exhibit from a single user experience to having multiple stations, for example, may involve a complete rebuild; but, that may be just what an exhibit needs for becoming more appealing for girls!

24 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN Acknowledgments

Project success requires both institutional and community support. We are deeply grateful to our funders and staff supporters, whose interest and dedication has made EDGE conversations become a part of our professional lives on a daily basis. Thank you to the dedicated Exploratorium EDGE Refurbishment Team and to the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation for their ongoing support!

Jon Baldwin, Exhibit Tech Vicente Oropeza, Exhibit Tech

Kevin Boyd, Science Writer Janet Petitpas, Director of Collections and Galleries, Project Director Toni Dancstep, PhD, Visitor Research and Evaluation Senior Researcher and Sue Pomon, EDGE Advisor Amy Snyder, Photographer Eric Dimond, Director of Exhibits and PI Rosario Sotelo, Visitor Research and Veronica Garcia-Luis, Visitor Research Evaluation and Evaluation Project Director Charles Sowers, Exhibit Developer Sam Haynor, Exhibit Developer and Jessica Strick, Exhibit Developer and EDGE Advisor EDGE Advisor Oksu Hong, PhD, EDGE Research Lisa Strong, Photographer Fellow Pearl Tesler, Science Writer Maz Kattuah, Exhibit Developer Erik Thogersen, Project Director and Meghan Kroning, Visitor Research and EDGE Advisor Evaluation Project Coordinator Aaron Weiler, Exhibit Engineer Ray Larsen, Graphic Designer Diane Whitmore, Exhibit Developer and Donna Linden, Editor EDGE Advisor Margaret Middleton, Independent Consultant

Acknowledgments 25 References

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Young, J. R., Ortiz, N. A., & Young, 3 Whitmore, D., & Yarbrough, Dasgupta, N. & Stout, J. G. J. L. (2017). “STEMulating M. E. (in press). “Female- (2014). “Girls and Women Interest: A Meta-Analysis of Responsive Exhibit Design: in Science Technology, the Effects of Out-of-School Explorations of a Research- Engineering and Mathematics: Time on Student STEM Practice Partnership.” In B/ STEMing the Tide and Interest.” Bevan & B. Ramos (Edgs.), International Journal Broadening Participation in of Education in Mathematics, Imagining Equity, Theorizing STEM Careers.” Policy Insights Science and Technology, 5(1), Change: Bridging Research from the Behavioral and Brain 62–74. and Practice in the Museum. Sciences, 1(1), 21–29. London: Routledge. 2 Anderson, D., Zhang, Z., Fenollosa, C., Achiam, M., & Chatterjee, S., Robin, R., & 7 Gendered Innovations Project. Holmegaard, H. T. (2016). Aldrich, P. (2005). “Punjab (2020). Gender. “Attracting Girls to Science— Students’ Perceptions of Calling for a New Approach.” 8 Calabrese Barton, A., Menezes, Science Topics: Challenging Spokes, 18. S., Mayas, R., Ambrogio, O., & Outcomes from a Front-End Ballard, S. (2018). What Are Study.” Middleton, Margaret. (2019). Visitor Studies Today!, the Cultural Norms of STEM (1) (2005): 8–12. “Feminine Exhibition Design.” 8 and Why Do They Matter? Exhibition, Fall 2019, 82–91. Crowley, K., Callanan, M., Washington, DC: Center for 4 Tenenbaum, H., & Allen, E. Cheryan, S., Plaut, V. C., Davies, Advancement of Informal (2001). “Parents Explain P. G., & Steele, C. M. (2009). Science Education. More Often to Boys Than to “Ambient Belonging: How 9 Dancstep, T. and Sindorf, L. Girls During Shared Scientific Stereotypical Cues Impact (2016). Exhibit Designs for Thinking.” Gender Participation in Psychological Girls’ Engagement: A Guide to Computer Science.” Journal Science, 12(3), 258–61. the EDGE Design Attributes. of Personality and Social Diamond, J. (1994). Sex San Francisco: Exploratorium, Psychology, 97(6), 1045–60. differences in science 14. museums: A review. Curator, Dasgupta, N. & Stout, J. G. 10 Ibid., 16. 37(1), 17–24. (2014). 5 Greenfield, T. A. (1995). “Sex Borun, M. (1999). “Gender Roles Differences in Science in Science Museum Learning.” Museum Exhibit Attraction.” Visitor Studies Today!, 3, Journal of Research in Science 11–14. Teaching, 32(9), 925–38.

26 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN 11 Bell, J., Besley, J., Cannady, M., Vossoughi, S., Hooper, P. Roots of Wisdom Project Team Crowley, K., Grack Nelson, K., & Escudé, M. (2016). (2016). Reflections and Ideas A., Philips, T., Riedinger, K., “Making Through the Lens of about Collaboration with & Storksdieck, M. (2018). Culture and Power: Towards Integrity. Portland, OR: Oregon The Role of Identity in Transformative Visions for Museum of Science and STEM Learning and Science Educational Equity.” Harvard Industry. Communication: Reflections Educational Review, 86(2), 14 Dancstep, T. and Sindorf, L. on Interviews from the Field. 206–32. (2016), 18. Washington, DC: Center for 12 Jones, D. (2020). “Improving the 15 Exploratorium Teacher Institute. Advancement of Informal Experience for Visitors with Science Education. (October 2, 2020). Stripped- Autism.” Spokes, 59. Down Motor. Bevan, B., Calabrese Barton, Simon, Nina. (2010). The 16 A., & Garibay, C. (2018) Kroning, M. amd Garcia-Luis, V. Participatory Museum. Santa Broadening Perspectives on (2019). Super Stripped-Down Cruz, CA: Museums 2.0. Broadening Participation in Motor Formative Evaluation 13 STEM. Washington, DC: Center Orantes, E. (2010). “Listening Report. San Francisco: for Advancement of Informal to Teens.” In How Visitors Exploratorium. Science Education. Changed Our Museum: Transforming the Gallery of Dawson, E. (2019). Equity, California Art at the Oakland Exclusion and Everyday Museum of California. Eds. B. Science Learning. New York, Henry & K. McLean. Oakland, NY: Routledge. CA: Oakland Museum of Dawson, E. (2016). “When California. 25-27. Science Is Someone Else’s World.” In L. Avraamidou & W.-M. Roth (Eds.), Intersections of Formal and Informal Science, 82–92. New York, NY: Routledge.

References 27 Appendix: EDGE Design Attributes Assessment Tool

Exhibit Name: Date:

Gallery/Collection: Coder Name:

EXHIBIT LABELS Attribute Present in Exhibit?

The exhibit label includes at least Yes | No one image of a person. An exhibit label might include an image of a person to add real-world context or help visitors use the exhibit.

The exhibit label includes a use Yes | No drawing, giving visitors an idea of how to use the exhibit. These drawings often show a person doing an action, or how to use an interactive element.

EXHIBIT LOOK–AND–FEEL

The exhibit includes at least one Yes | No familiar object that most people have seen before. Includes everyday things such as kitchen items, household tools, musical instruments, or stuffed animals.

The exhibit’s look-and-feel is homey, Yes | Slightly | No personal, homemade, or delicate. Homey design aesthetics deal with materials such as soft fabrics, wood cabinetry, or a small, intimate scale that may give a more personal feeling.

The exhibit’s look-and-feel is playful, Yes | Slightly | No whimsical, or humorous. The central experience or aesthetic fosters a feeling of playfulness rather than a need to “be serious” or “get it right.”

28 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN EXHIBIT INTERACTIONS Attribute Present in Exhibit?

The exhibit has multiple stations Yes | No or sides, allowing more than one person to experience the phenomenon. These exhibits give each visitor ownership of a personal space to experience the phenomenon or do the activity.

The exhibit has been designed with Yes | No space to accommodate three or more people. A large room, spacious floor plan, or large table surface create physical space, or elbow room at the exhibit.

The exhibit is designed so visitors Yes | No can watch others to preview what to do. When visitors can see the actions or reactions of another person using an exhibit, it may orient them to the activity.

The exhibit is open-ended, Yes | No providing multiple outcomes, activities, or ways to interact. Exhibits may be open-ended in many ways, for example: the outcome is different every time or it is designed for a multitude of Iterations with an assortment of variables. Total Design Attributes:

Notes:

Appendix: EDGE Design Attributes Assessment Tool 29 30 A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING GENDER EQUITY IN EXHIBIT DESIGN